There is some important data which has not as yet found its way into philosophic discussions on the problem of evil. Some religious people report that suffering, instead of being contrary to the love of God, is actually a medium in and through which his love can be experienced. This looks highly paradoxical, but it will be our purpose to show that it is intelligible and that it has important consequences for philosophical discussions of the problem of evil.

Philosophy for Understanding Theology has become the classic text for exploring the relationship between philosophy and Christian theology. This new edition adds chapters on postmodernism and questions of the self and the good to bring the book up to date with current scholarship. It introduces students to the influence that key philosophers and philosophical movements through the centuries have had on shaping Christian theology in both its understandings and forms of expression.

In 11 essays (many of which have appeared elsewhere though some only in French, together with new material prepared especially for this volume), the authors cover the main, and some of the more controversial, aspects of Weil's (1909-1943) ...

This article is a venture into a Christian Theology of Other Faiths. In contrast to History of Religions, which seeks to understand a religion from its own point of view, a Christian Theology of Other Faiths seeks to understand another religion from the perspective of the Christian revelation.Here I present Simone Weil’s claim that the Word of God is manifest in human form in other faiths, and that the Gospels are written from the point of view of a victim, and (...) are completed by the Bhagavad Gita which is written from the point of view of an agent who wields a sword. (shrink)

... we are to look to God for what which only he can give. If it is available elsewhere, we are not to ask for it even though he can provide it. One thing which only he can give us is genuine goodness or holiness . .. and another is his Kingdom.

This new anthology provides primary texts undergirding Diogenes Allen's earlier work, Philosophy for Understanding Theology, making for a valuable theological ...

An invitation to look at Jesus of Nazareth to determine for yourself whether what he did and said satisfies your concern with the big questions of life and the significance of your own life.

The author presents the role of nature in our knowledge and love of God in the Greek Fathers and one major medieval theologian, Hugh of St. Victor. There is a very rich literature on the contemplative use of nature but a lesser known one that is an active spirituality. It focuses on technology and commerce and how their improvement is part of our restoration from the Fall. It thus connects earthly pursuits to religious motives and goals. It is non-Aristotelian, free (...) of an anti-intellectual prejudice toward the mechanical arts and commerce. It distinguishes between the proper aim and the misuse of technology and commerce. The loss of this tradition was so complete that Francis Bacon is still regarded by most people as the origin of the notion that science and technology are part of our spiritual restoration after the Fall. (shrink)

I wish to show how the existence and order of nature may function as a witness to God’s existence and goodness. Although “witness” is a theological term, the argument is a philosophical one.